Green Power Switch Boosts Resonant-Converter Efficiency

Nov 7, 2007 1:47 PM

Fairchild Semiconductor’s FSFR2100 is a highly integrated power switch designed to increase power efficiency and system reliability in resonant converter designs. Offering a burst operation function, the device brings standby power consumption below 1 W to achieve the industry’s 1-W initiative. The device also features a zero-voltage switching (ZVS) technique that dramatically reduces switching losses in MOSFETs and rectifiers. With this technique, this power switch can handle up to 200 W without a heatsink, and up to 450 W with a heatsink.

Compared to conventional hard-switching converter topologies, efficiency is improved by up to 10% to reach 97%. An additional advantage of this ZVS technique is that switching noise is dramatically reduced by at least 5 dB compared to hard-switching techniques. Offered in a system-in-package approach that integrates all the required elements, this power switch integrates a pulse-frequency-modulation (PFM) controller with a high-voltage gate-driver circuit and two fast-recovery MOSFETs. Packaged in a thermally efficient 9-SIP, pricing is $4.16 each for 1000 pieces.